WSQ image library for Texas Instruments family microprocessors released

Cognaxon has released "WSQ image library" for Texas Instruments family
microprocessors (embedded systems).

Importance of WSQ format:
Electronic fingerprints submitted to the FBI either through Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), or Electronic
Fingerprint Image Print System (EFIPS) may not be compressed with any
technique other than WSQ.

WSQ image format is superior to other compression methods. Most lossy
compression methods, such as JPEG, discard the smallest (highest
frequency) details in images, and at higher compression ratios
unacceptably distort the image. Contained within fingerprints are tiny
details that are considered admissible points of identification in a
court of law. To JPEG, these details may be regarded as noise and
removed. The JPEG quantization matrix also allows blocking artifacts
to occur in the image at compression ratios above about 10:1. Shifting
bits to the high frequencies to preserve small details will only make
the blocking worse. Lossless compression methods, such as LZW and
JBIG, cannot achieve the high compression ratios of WSQ on fingerprint
data, with 2:1 typically being the best. WSQ is a lossy compression
method that is well-suited for preserving the very high resolution
details of grayscale images while maintaining high compression ratios
of typically 12:1 to 15:1 on image  s that have not undergone "quality
enhancements" (such as histogram equalization) to improve the
appearance of the image.

Adding WSQ image library to your existing projects is very easy. Only
3 simple steps and a few lines of code are needed.

For latest version and more information please visit:
http://www.cognaxon.com

 From the cognaxon website:

 > The source code of WSQ image library contains 20,099,433 lines of 
code > and saves you months of tedious work.

Wow - that image-lib contains more than twice as much code as the linux 
kernel. I'm impressed!